Hobby shops to visit in the UK?

[one_hit 1045]

Hey guys, I am currently vacationing in the UK and would like to know if there are any hobby shops nearby that I can visit, specifically near Cotswold, Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury. Cheers!

[Hobgoblin 1059]

Near (ish, 10 or so miles out) Bath there's a place called Dunks Models. I know they used to stock Tamiya stuff alongside planes, boats and static models. 

[Ray68 2]

Dunks are in Trowbridge Wiltshire and do have a lot of tamiya stock or did when I last went in.  

 

[Kevin_Mc 411]

I hear (from another forum) that Trowbridge is the cosmic centre of the universe. 

[NobbySideways 113]

Good few of those are my area. In salisbury there is a very good model (small) shop however his RC stock is not usually that good. Lots of plastic model kits and 00/n gauge trains though. It's called Salisbury Model Centre and is fairly near the train station.

 

Ray68, I'm not a million miles from you (my parents-in-law run a shop in Westbury), are there any good areas to run models near you? For my other hobby (building large model steam locomotives) I go to the West Wiltshire Society of Model Engineers near Westbury but I don't like to ruin their grass with my DT03!

[Mad Ax 9310]

9 hours ago, Kevin_Mc said:

I hear (from another forum) that Trowbridge is the cosmic centre of the universe. 

It's true.  We even have our own cinema now.  Those who live here call it Trow Vegas, although I prefer Treux Bruges.  I think that sounds more classy.

9 hours ago, Ray68 said:

Dunks are in Trowbridge Wiltshire and do have a lot of tamiya stock or did when I last went in.  

Dunk has a surprising amount of Tamiya stock.  Prices are high but then he is trying to run a local high street store and not an internet megashop.  He doesn't stock bearings or much in the way of spares, so don't expect a treasure trove of ancient hop-ups to pick through.  He's about 10 minutes walk from me so I like to pop up for a nosey and a chat from time to time.

41 minutes ago, NobbySideways said:

Ray68, I'm not a million miles from you (my parents-in-law run a shop in Westbury), are there any good areas to run models near you? For my other hobby (building large model steam locomotives) I go to the West Wiltshire Society of Model Engineers near Westbury but I don't like to ruin their grass with my DT03!

@NobbySideways if you like to run off-road then there's a good spot on near Erlestoke, by the Imber Range.  Head from Westbury towards Erlestoke on the Bratton Rollers, just before you get to Erlestoke Golf Club (on the left) there is a sharp turning on the right (literally right off a tight left-hand bend).  My van can't actually turn into it from that direction so I go into the golf club car park, turn around, then head back and fork off left.  It's a very narrow lane that leads up to a flat expanse of grass overlooking the Imber Range.  The grass is great for running big trucks or buggies, and there's some heavy gravel and some deep rutted tracks too.

If you like scale crawling then there's a big wooded section with some very steep climbs.  Mountain bikers and 1:1 4x4 people use it (although motor vehicles are technically banned) and the local hunt exercise their dogs there, but every time I've been there it's been deadly quiet.  I am trying to arrange some Thursday night crawls up that way probably starting monthly from November.  If you're on Facebook, join the Westcountry RC Adventures group (or one of the myriad other local crawler groups as I'll probably share the info around).

 

@one_h

[Mad Ax 9310]

@one_hit in answer to your original question (tried to tag you above but somehow managed to post and can't edit it, faceplam!) Dunks is worth a look if you want an NIB car, however if you want vintage get in touch with Adie from Racecraft RC.

https://www.racecraftrc.co.uk/

He runs a local shop in Dunkerton, near Radstock.  Technically it's mail order only but his shop is on the same site as the Dirt 3D off-road track, which he also runs.  If you're in the area during a practice or race night then he might let you look through his stock of vintage spares.  He's usually got some cool stuff lying around.  Recently he had an original SRB Ranger resto project for sale.  You might even be able to borrow the club car if you want to play on the circuit.

[one_hit 1045]

Thanks for the replies. I visited Dunks yesterday. Wasn’t able to buy anything though. The owner was a nice fellow and gave me a 2019 Tamiya RC Guidebook for free 

[NobbySideways 113]

I don't know what it is, but I want a Turbo Beaver on the name alone.

[moffman 5752]

So nice to see a local model shop! I have a almost local model shop which will price match for me so happy days and it's pure nostalgia for me when I've bought (or pre-ordered) an item and I'm returning back home with said items👍 far better than key board pressing🤔

[Mad Ax 9310]

@moffman me too.  Especially the old-style model shops which are always dark because of the stock piled up in the windows, have that dusty smell, mixed with a bit of paint and other chemicals and maybe some damp where the walls haven't seen air in 30 years.  Places where you have to duck to avoid the nitro planes hanging from the ceiling.  Places where, if you move a model box, you find a hitherto undiscovered shelf or drawer full of vintage hop-ups.

Bath Model Centre used to be very much like that, it was even a nice place to be after it was refitted a couple of decades ago, although more modern.  Such a shame that they're dying out but also, such a shame that the high street prices are so much higher.

Also a shame that my next purchase probably won't be a Tamiya, otherwise Dunk would get some more custom from me...